Ethiopian gunmen kill Sudanese army captain

A Sudanese army captain was killed and three people were wounded in an attack by Ethiopian gunmen in El Gedaref yesterday. The gunmen were supported by the Ethiopian army.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that a group of Ethiopian gunmen (called shifta in the region) raided Barakat Nourein in El Gureisha locality on the border with Ethiopia yesterday morning.

Captain Karamallah Yagoub was killed in the ensuing clashes and three civilians, including a woman, were wounded.

Many residents in the area fled their homes, seeking refuge in neighbouring villages.

On Thursday afternoon Ethiopian reinforcements arrived estimated at hundreds of soldiers, and the Sudan Armed Forces intervened.

It is not unusual that Ethopian shifta raid Sudanese villages in the border area during the harvest season. This time, however, they were supported by the Ethiopian army, army spokesperson Brig Amer El Hassan said in Khartoum.

The witnesses added that gunmen shot a young man from Barakat Nourein village in his foot on Wednesday. He was transferred to El Gedaref Hospital.

On Wednesday evening, gunmen raided Mashre El Fursan village, north-east of Barakat Nourein.

In the past years, Ethiopian gunmen occupied agricultural lands in the border areas of El Gedaref. They are now preparing to hand them over to Sudanese farmers.

The villagers have appealed to the authorities to intensify the military presence in the border area in order to protect them from shifta and militia attacks.

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